UMSL poet to give book reading at Webster Groves library

Eamonn Wall, the Smurfit-Stone Corporation Endowed Professor in Irish Studies at UMSL, will read excerpts from his poetry book “Sailing Lake Mareotis” at 2 p.m. Jan 26 at the Webster Groves Public Library. (Photo by August Jennewein)

A native of Ireland, poet Eamonn Wall has called the U.S. home for more than 30 years. Since 2000, he’s lived in Webster Groves, Mo. This transatlantic identity has shaped his writing and made him one of the most prominent contemporary voices of the Irish-American experience.

Wall’s stories navigate back and forth between cities and rural spaces, America and Ireland, the ancient and modern, the classroom and home, presenting a many-sided exploration of a fine and fractured world.

He’ll be joined at the reading by Drucilla Wall, assistant teaching professor of English at UMSL, and Christine Callahan.

Wall has eight published books of poetry and prose. His next collection, “New and Selected Poems,” is scheduled for publication in 2014.

The event is sponsored by Webster Groves Public Library, Salmon Poetry (Ireland), the Smurfit-Stone Endowed Professorship in Irish Studies at UMSL and International Studies and Programs at UMSL.